“PLANE RIDE OR A NICE DRIVE IN THE COUNTRY DARLING?”
As we didn’t have to be up at 5am to go to the airport we had a leisurely morning. We eventually headed out of the house and into the country. Now this was a new experience for me as when I used to live here no one could afford a car. Fast  forward ten years and most friends have kids, and if you have a kid you ‘need’ a car.

Within half an hour we were in the middle of nowhere. A  tiny village consisting of only ten homes (not sure if this even constitutes a village). Like any good English village it had a pub and this was the main reason for visiting. The village name was ‘Friday Street’ near New Dorking and the pub was the Stephan Langton pub. This pub served surprisingly good food. I presume this is the attraction as why else would you drive to the middle of nowhere. You know the pub was old as the toilet was still outside at the back.

To preserve the community (and business) in this village (and quite a few now across England) you can only buy property if you are in someway connected through birth to someone who lives there. This seemed a little ‘strict’ when I fist heard it, but after hearing of villages where tourists have bought places and only stay there in the summer, which eventually effected local businesses and the general vibe of the place – I fully understood.

I had the Pan- fried pork fillet with roasted apple, potatoes, black pudding and gravy. At almost thirteen ($23) pounds it seemed a little expensive, but when I saw the meal as it was brought to our outside table and tasted it, it was well worth it. The sweetness of the roasted apple, the meatiness and flavour of the black pudding mixed with the perfectly cooked pork was mouth-wateringly delicious.

Well worth a drive to the country for sure. All of this was washed down with two pints of local beer, which had the right balance of hops and smoothness. After lunch, we went for a gentle stroll (luckily as anything longer and I think I wouldn’t have made it, not being used to drinking at lunch There were plenty of public footpaths to choose from, winding our way through forests and small country roads. It was so British, like something out of a country fairy tale.

One of the houses had home made marmalade outside for sale. You just took the jam and left the money in a wee pot. I love this small village mentality, trusting humans to be good people. It was good to be in the country.

SEE IMAGES ON FLICKR:
part 1, part 2, part 3 & part 4

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